If you were to tell me at the start of the year that Queens of the Stone Age could potentially craft the album of the year, I'd raise my eyebrow and look for a TARDIS as it'd be quite obvious you'd travelled from 2002 when QotSA had produced one of the albums of that year and the idea of them even getting close to Songs for the Deaf was, well, ludicrous.
Lo and behold, it's over a decade later, the constantly revolving line-up have had two albums under it's belt, neither have which have emulated the adulation and legacy of Songs for the Deaf (although neither were bad records) and now, like it's namesake, album six has arrived and to my surprise, it's near faultless.
Much like it's predecessor Era Vulgaris; ...Like Clockwork attempts to refine the band's previous grunge/stoner rock traits into a more refined and accessible sound. Unlike Era Vulgaris however, which could be considered a loose concept album on a trip to California (loose being the keyword), ...Like Clockwork is a traditional album, ten tracks, slightly over forty-five minutes and it's tight.
It opens up strong with Keep Your Eyes Peeled; a slow, brooding rock song with a Homme's shouting a hook, a distorted bass throughout and messy, percussion-led bridge which does well as an introduction to the remainder of the album.
From there on, it goes from strength to strength. I Sat by the Ocean is easily the song that fits the mould of "the one that sounds like every QotSA song before it". It's not bad but it's awfully familiar, thankfully, like many songs in the band's back catalogue; it's got plenty of riffs that keep the song interesting.
Fairweather Friends and My God is the Sun are easily the most accessible on the record. Both are easy on the ears with catchy vocals, pleasing guitar riffs and more stereotypical song structures but never too simplified or insultingly average.
On the opposite side of the spectrum; The Vampyre of Time and Memory is dark and brooding, lead by piano with Homme's surprisingly gentle vocals reflecting on confusion and disappointment at familiarity. The title track is also sad affair; a bizarre, ballad-like piece in stark contrast to the pulsating, blitz-sound of before (The Vampyre of Time and Memory withstanding). It's similar to Long Slow Goodbye, but far more sombre and tragic.
Like all QotSA albums from Rated R onwards; the album's collaborators and guest stars provide minimal but much needed injections, without stealing the limelight. Opener Keep Your Eyes Peeled features faint background vocals from Scissor Sisters' frontman Jake Shears, his distorted falsetto voice in stark contrast to Hommes' more baritone vocals.
Standout track If I Had a Tail's contributions don't even make an impact until after the song. As the song concludes; Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turners sings part of the chorus, his Sheffield accent in stark contrast to the rest of the album's Americana sound, but then Homme's wife Brody Dale delivers the same line in a truly frightening whisper which suddenly cuts to the familiar beat of My God is the Sun.
And that's just two tracks. Once you throw in Dave Grohl returning to drumming duties for the first time since Songs for the Deaf, Trent Reznor making a vocal appearance on bizarrely enthralling baroque-pop meets industrial rock Kalopsia and Elton John contributing piano to Fairweather Friends, you're looking at an album guestlist that wouldn't look out of place on a 21st century RnB or rap record.
But at no point does anything steal the show, they all work, like clockwork, all part of the bigger picture, in a truly fantastic rock and roll album that will take many by surprise at just how well it all comes together.
9/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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